A Muslim man has been killed by a mob of vigilantes in India after being accused of smuggling cows for slaughter, according to officials.

Akbar Khan, 28, was beaten to death by the group on Friday evening in the northwest of Rajasthan state while transporting cows through a village around 160km from the state capital Jaipur, local police said.

According to police officer Mohan Singh, the mob intercepted Khan and another man on foot who were herding two cows at around midnight Friday in a forested area. He said the mob began punching and beating the men with sticks. One managed to escape while Khan was taken to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Vasundhara Raje, Rajasthan's chief minister, described the attack as "condemnable" in a tweet, adding those who carried out the attack would face the "strictest possible action".